The Youko's Rose
by Wowie
Summary: Crossover with Yuu Yuu Hakusho. It is about how Youko Kurama got his rose... from Princess Serenity. Dates back before the Moon Princess met Prince Endymion.


**The Youko's Rose**   
by Wowie

**Author's Note:** At last! My first _finished_ fic! Whoa! ::wipes sweat:: After two years in waiting, I was finally able to upload this in the internet! But frankly speaking, I was having second thoughts on whether I'm going to upload this or not. Anyway, the original title of this fic is "The Youko of her Past", but it sounded corny so I changed it to "The Youko's Rose". I was actually starting a new version of this fic when dark-soldier-saturn lent me the copy I gave her two years ago. When I read it again, I realized that there were so many holes in the story so I re-edited it again with the help of Akin Sijin. So here's the result!   
  
**FFN Upload History:** First uploaded under the category of Yuu Yuu Hakusho, then I removed the story and transferred it under the category of Sailor Moon (I didn't know then that I could change the category in the settings that's why I removed it). Now I finally changed the category under Sailor Moon Crossovers. Reviewers enclosed in asterisks are signed reviews from the first appearance of the story.   
  
**Disclaimer:** Yoshihiro Togashi owns Yuu Yuu Hakusho and Naoko Takeuchi owns Bishoujo Sailor Moon. Both were just married at the time of this fic's writing, by the way, and I only knew about it when AnimaeChina pointed it out to me when I first posted this here in FFN... hehe!   
  
**Nipon-English:** _Odango_ – Meatball _Senshi_ – Soldier/Warrior _Youko_ – A kind of yukai that is half-man and half-fox _Yukai_ – Monster _Makai_ – Monster Realm _Kitsune_ – Fox _Ginzuishou_ – Silver Crystal _Okaasan_ – Mother _Baka_ – Fool/Stupid _Hime_ – Princess _Gomen Nasai_ – I'm Sorry _Konnichiwa_ – Good Afternoon _Arigatou_ – Thank you _Sayonara_ – Farewell

* * *

**{The Present}**

It was raining long and hard. Most of the people were in their own houses, waiting for the sun to shine. It seemed a long time since they felt its presence, though it was only yesterday when the day was clear and bright.

A young man was walking down the street. One would wonder what could he be thinking because it was as if his mind was somewhere else. His clothes moist because of the rain were of little importance unlike the train of thoughts that clogged his mind. His scarlet hair dampened the back of his already wet clothes more. His face gave away no indication of emotion like his blank emerald eyes that stared through whatever was in front of him.

He was in that state when he felt a familiar aura from the top of the stairs to the Hikawa Shrine. He looked up to see a girl with long corn-blonde hair in odango pigtails and eyes that matched the color of a clear sky. Their gazes met and they simply stood there looking at each other. An awkward silence ensued between them…

* * *

**{The Silver Millenium}**

The sound of the front door banging shut made the people inside the palace panic with fear. In her throne room, the queen was pacing the floor with an extremely worried expression.

"Your highness, I shall protect you with all my strength and power," Venus said on her knees to the thoughtful queen. The queen's lips curved into a faint smile and she was about to say something when the door swung open. A pale-looking Mars entered.

"My queen!" she gasped. "The princess! They have taken the princess!"

"What?!" The queen exclaimed agitatedly. She hurriedly exited the throne room to head for her daughter's suite.

"Tell the others to search the grounds immediately!" Venus commanded and followed the queen. The head of the inner sailor senshis found her queen staring blankly at a piece of paper held in her delicate fingers. One of the curtains was swaying poignantly as if pointing to the open window that it hung to. Venus went to the open window and squinted her eyes in the darkness trying to discern any trace of the princess and her abductor. A low thump turned her gaze back to the queen who was lying flat on the carpeted floor.

"Your highness!" she bent down quickly to the unconscious queen's side and noticed she was still clutching the piece of paper. She pried it out of the queen's surprisingly tight grasp. Her expressive blue eyes widened as she found out who signed the note. It was the legendary youko of Makai.

* * *

The room was dark and silent. She tried to find some light but much to her disappointment, the room had no openings. She realized that she was in an unfamiliar terrain. She mustered all her strength to use her powers but her temples throbbed in pain because of the effort. Her attention was suddenly drawn to a creaking that sounded from one side of the room. A door opened and some light flowed in through the room. A tall figure stood in the doorway and even though she couldn't see clearly, she faintly made out some of his features. His light purple hair with silver overtones cascaded over his shoulders up to his lower back. His slender and yet firmly muscled body leant on the doorframe and his slim hands were crossed over his chest. He had ears and tail that resembled that of a kitsune's, his golden eyes seemed fierce but quite handsome. To her surprise, he smiled.

"Did I pass your taste or would you prefer me to remove my clothes so you can have a better look?" he asked in a lazy tone. The princess turned red to the roots. _Have I been staring that long?_ Before she could reply, the smile vanished from the man's lips. He picked up something from his side and walked towards her direction. He unrolled the bundle and laid it down by her feet.

"Here, you can use this futon. You must get used to this place for you might be staying here for a long time."

"How long?" the princess asked softly.

"It depends if your queen concedes to our demands, maybe a week or so. For me that is a very long time but I am generous enough to give her time to think about it," he waited for her reply but she didn't answer nor move. "Suit yourself," he shrugged then started towards the door. He stopped on his tracks when he heard her call "Wait!" He turned to her.

"I want to know who you are and what you want from our kingdom." 

A short silence filled the dark room and then his laughter took the place of silence.

"Are you really that naïve or are you just pretending?" he said while trying to calm himself down. "You know everybody else wants to get his or her hands on the Moon Ginzuishou. It's one of the most expensive treasures in every realm and we all know that it's inside Moon Queen's body. So to make sure your _okaasan_ will comply, we have to abduct you and the Ginzuishou will serve as the ransom. And as for who I am, it's not relevant. But I am a youko and if you're planning to escape, I must warn you that I can easily track you down," with that he left the room. And as soon as he closed the door, the Moon Princess broke down and cried herself to sleep.

* * *

She opened her eyes to find worried faces looking down at her. She sat up and looked around, expecting to see her daughter. To her dismay, she didn't find her with them.

"Where is my daughter?"

"Don't you remember, your highness?" Mercury asked softly. The Queen shook her head slowly.

"The youko has taken her to Makai and he wants us to give him the Ginzuishou in exchange for her freedom," Mars told her solemnly.

"Don't worry your highness, we are currently forming a plan to rescue her. We'll do our best to get her back safely," Venus assured.

"Thank you, Venus for your kind words but… I think it may be better if we should wait a little longer. I don't want to endanger my daughter's life by being impulsive."

"They won't harm the princess. I think they'll never have the gall to do that," Venus replied impetuously. "And besides, we won't let them."

The queen was too confused to reprimand Venus, she could only think about her daughter. _My princess, please be all right._

* * *

The dark hall was crowded with every yukai thieves that were not on the watch outside. Amidst the large group, the youko stood on an elevated platform with his right-hand man, Guronue on his side. Everyone was restless. This was the moment they had been waiting for. This was the time when they can possess the most valuable treasure in the entire Moon Kingdom. Having the Moon Princess as their captive gave them the better end of the situation.

"Listen," the youko started. He looked around to see if everyone was paying attention. Unluckily two yukais were still immersed in their conversation. In a split second, the two fell to the ground, dead, caused by the thorny vines that cut through their bodies. Everyone was shocked but nobody dared to react.

"Now," he said with a wicked smile, "are you all ready to listen, or would you prefer to end up like those two?" No one answered and that was enough to satisfy the youko. "Good," he said in mock-amusement. "You all know that we have the Moon Princess in our hands. It won't be long before the Moon Queen will give us what we want in exchange for her beloved daughter, so it's very important for us to take care of the princess so we can return her in good condition."

The crowd started to murmur. "What does he mean by that? He can't be serious!" one exclaimed. "She's our prisoner! All prisoners should be killed!" added another one. "He's out of his mind!" And they continued to whisper their reactions. Even Kuronue was surprised on what his friend just said. _He knows about the rules, we have to execute all prisoners. How come he's letting her live?_

"It seems to me that everyone is objecting. Are you sure that is the right thing to do?" Kuronue voiced out. The youko answered his right-hand man's opinion loudly for everyone to hear.

"Even though we are thieves, we still have honor. I gave them my word that we will not harm the princess in any way provided that they give us the Ginzuishou. I already broke our code when I decided to kidnap her so keeping my word is the least I can do," the youko paused for a while then continued in a hard voice. "And if anyone has a problem with that, come forward and tell it to me directly." Everyone was silent. No one was in their right mind had the guts to fight the youko for they knew how powerful he was. So for their own sakes, they kept quiet.

"But what if she doesn't concede with us?" Kuronue asked.

"Then we'll have to kill her," the youko replied somewhat regretfully. "Though, I think she doesn't deserve any harsh treatment while our demands are still pending. After all, she is a princess." Kuronue was amazed with what his friend said and smirked to cover his confusion. This made the youko a bit irritated.

"Why are you looking at me like that? Is there something wrong with what I said?"

"Yes there is, as a matter of fact," Kuronue answered. "What's wrong with you? You've been giving too much credit to that princess. Care to talk about it?" The youko didn't answer. Instead, he walked out of the hall to avoid his best friend's question. Kuronue smiled to himself as he read the meaning of it all, though he knew his friend will never admit it in a million years.

* * *

"The Moon Princess has escaped!" someone shouted. The youko, furious upon hearing this, rushed towards the princess' cell. When he reached there, he saw two guards lying unconscious on the floor. Angry, he grabbed one of them and woke him by slapping him repeatedly.

"You imbeciles! What the hell happened? How could she have escaped that easily?" The terrified guard stuttered his reply. But the youko did not hear what he said for a cold realization dawned at him. "Did you," he growled, his eyes darkening," try to take advantage of her?" The guard he was almost strangling looked at him with fear. "Baka!" he slammed him on the floor. At that moment, Kuronue along with Yomi arrived at the scene.

"You two take care of these two— trashes while I search for the princess in the woods." Kuronue and Yomi nodded then the youko went on his way.

* * *

She was hopelessly lost. She had been running for several minutes now yet she still couldn't find the exit to this strange forest. Makai was an alien realm for her and it seemed that she was just running around in circles. Now she was tired, so exhausted from running and when she saw a big tree, she decided to rest there for a while.

She was almost raped back there, good thing they were stupid enough to leave the door open. At last, she could return to the moon, to her mother. Three days had passed since her abduction but it felt like a year for her. For a moment, she was able to rest when someone grabbed her by the neck, choking her. It threw her on the ground and then she saw that there were others like it that started surrounding her. They looked scary with their big jaws dripping with saliva. Green wrinkled skin, long thorny hair, sharp claws and bee-like eyes completed the horrifying picture. They were just about to pounce on her when, suddenly, a big man-eating plant appeared from nowhere and started gobbling the monsters one by one. The princess was so shocked that she screamed at the top of her voice. Her shout was cut short when something grabbed her from behind and placed its hand over her mouth.

"Ssshh…" the creature whispered. She calmed down and felt that the hand that was covering her mouth was withdrawn slowly. When it stepped backward, the princess abruptly turned around to see who it was and saw the youko, looking half-worried and half-furious.

"How did you find me?"

The youko didn't answer but regarded her coldly. He could see the fear in her azure eyes but she tried to hide it by looking defiantly at him with her chin up. He felt relieved that he found her unharmed, but ashamed for the way his subordinates acted towards her.

"I know why you escaped. But don't worry, I made sure that it will never happen again," his voice was gentle which made the princess frown. She thought the youko was void of any emotions. But now she's certain that he's not that bad, that beneath that cold exterior was a warm and gentle heart.

"Thank you… for saving my life," she gave him a warm smile. That single action made the youko catch his breath. Now he knew why lots of males from different realms never failed to notice the beauty of this young maiden. It was as if an enchanting spell was cast on him with that simple smile, and he was furious about it. He should not let his guard down just because he's with the most beautiful woman he had ever seen… Again, he scolded himself. If he's going to continue looking at her physically, his plans will all go to ruins.

"I was just keeping my word that you'll not be harmed. It doesn't mean that I'm going to let you go back to your kingdom," he replied coolly, but his coldness didn't affect the princess anymore for she already had a glimpse of his gentle side.

"Then let's go," she said cheerfully, which surprised the youko. He was expecting her to object, to demand for her release. Instead, she agreed immediately. And not only that, she seemed determined to go back with him. He was about to retort something back when a gust of cold wind blew their way. They both looked up to see the clouds darkening, a sure sign of rain. Lightning suddenly struck from a distance and the roar of thunder echoed through the woods.

"We have to find shelter fast," the youko said. He looked around and saw a cave behind a cluster of trees. "There," he pointed to the cave, "that's a good one." He glanced back at the princess and saw her nod. Without another word, they went towards it and set camp. The youko collected some twigs scattered outside the cave and used it to start a fire. He had just finished doing this when large drops of water started to fall down. He decided to stay near the cave entrance to keep watch. The princess, who was silent the whole time, stared at him from behind.

"Go to sleep," he said to break the stillness. "When the rain stops, we'll return to my hideout."

Without warning, a bolt of lightning hit one of the trees nearby. The princess screamed and jumped towards the youko, who, without thinking, hugged her to him. It was a little too late when she withdrew from his arms for she was able to smell his musk scent, touch the curve of the muscles in his strong arms, and feel the hardness of his wide chest.

"I'm sorry… I didn't mean to…" she said hesitantly but when she looked up at him, he was smiling gently. This gave her heart a quick thud. But the smile faded immediately and his cold mask was now in place.

"It's only natural for you to act like that. Now go to sleep so you can rest. I'll just wake you up when it is time to leave," the youko turned his attention back to the falling rain. The princess sighed then closed her eyes. In seconds, she was in a deep slumber.

* * *

A crashing sound woke her up. The youko was nowhere in sight but then she heard a growl from outside the cave. She could see the youko soaking wet and a huge monster with three large eyes, a very long snout with two long fangs, and eight thorny ears. Its hair was thick and sharp, its hands only have three fingers, and its feet had long claws. This creature was unusually strong too that it looked like the youko was helpless against it.

"Stay inside the cave, hime!" he shouted from afar then immediately turned into a kitsune. He tried to jump as high as he could to bite its shoulder, but the creature caught him and threw him down. He hit a big rock, which made him howl in pain. The creature attacked again but he got up quickly and jumped away. He pounced at the creature and finally bit its right shoulder, injecting a poison that came from his fangs. Soon, the monster fell down, dead.

He returned to his true form but felt an intense pain from his left arm where he had hit the rock. He was weak but he still had the strength to go back to the cave. As soon as he got inside, he collapsed down and leaned to the wall to rest. Blood trickled down from his wound, making the act extremely painful. The princess went near him and examined his gash.

"Your wound needs to be treated immediately. It might get infected if we won't do something to stop the bleeding."

Before the youko could interrupt, the princess closed her eyes and a ball of light appeared between her hands, which she slowly brought to his wound. The bleeding gradually stopped and the wound began to heal slowly.

"Why are you helping me?" the youko asked softly. She glanced up at him and saw the confusion in his golden eyes.

"It's my way of thanking you. You saved my life not only once, but twice. Now it's my turn to help you." With this, the youko kept quiet and let the princess finish.

* * *

They were inside the cave for almost half a day now, yet the rain still continued. From time to time, the youko would go to the mouth of the cave and look if there was any sign that the rain would stop. The princess, on the other hand, was sleeping peacefully. He went to princess' side and watched her sleep. He saw that he didn't have worry for she was soundly asleep.

His eyes suddenly felt heavy and realized that he too was tired. He leaned against the wall and was almost asleep when he felt something lean against his shoulder. He opened his eyes and found the princess leaning very close to him. His throat tightened, his hands trembled. What would he do? Would he let her sleep in that position or would he shift her a bit far from him? Good sense tells him to mover her but part of his heart wanted it that way. He wanted to hold her close to him. He wanted to…

He held her shoulders and leaned her carefully away from him. It was a good thing that she was in a deep sleep. He stared at her for a long time, looking at her blonde hair that hung on her shoulders, watching the rising and falling of her chest. When his eyes flew to her lips, he felt tempted to kiss them because they seemed soft and sweet. His eyes stayed there, like being hypnotized by an unknown force, but he got his thoughts back together and snapped back to reality.

He looked at her tenderly but with regret. _This can't be happening. I should never be attracted with her because we're different in many ways. A thief like me can never satisfy a princess like her._ He stood up and went outside the cave. There he stayed and looked up in the sky, letting the rain soak his entire body. This abduction wasn't such a good idea after all because he let his emotions take over him, which for him was a sign of weakness.

* * *

The princess woke up. At first, she was disoriented and was expecting to see her room back in the Moon Kingdom. But she slowly remembered that she was in a cave in Makai. The rain had stopped so she stood up and glanced around, looking for the youko. She found him outside, soaking wet. He sensed her but made no move.

"What… what are you doing there?"

The youko didn't reply. _I have to do it. It is the only way to end this._ "I'm going to take you home."

She was stunned with what he just said. He's taking me home? Back to the Moon Kingdom? Her face lit up, joyous at the prospect of release, but it was immediately turned into confusion.

"But… but why? Why the sudden decision?" she managed to blurt out, her thoughts were in a jumble.

"I realized that your okaasan would never give up the Ginzuishou, even if we burn the entire Moon Kingdom to the ground." The youko heard the catch in her voice. Is it possible that… she didn't want to go, to leave him? Hell, that's absurd. Of course she wanted to. She was taken here not with her own free will.

"What are you going to say to your men? How will you explain yourself?" she prodded. The youko simply shrugged his shoulders.

"You escaped me. You were too fast for me to catch. Although I know that they won't believe that story in a million years, I seem to have a way of asserting myself with others," he paused, and then sighed. "Come, I'm going to take you back to you kingdom now."

She didn't move, instead, she continued gaping at him.

"Let's go, hime. We have no time to loose."

"Please, call me Serenity. That's my name."

_Serenity… her name fits her perfectly._ "I don't have any right to call you by your name, hime."

"But I want you too. Can you let me know yours?"

He looked at her with his face blank. "What for? After all, we won't be seeing each other anymore, so it's not important for you to know my name."

"We can't be certain with that. Please, I want us to part as… friends. I… I would appreciate it very much if… if you'd tell me…" There was a moment of silence before the youko spoke again.

"Kurama," he answered coldly, trying not to look at her eyes. "Now are you satisfied?"

"Yes. Thank you… Kurama." Did hearing her say his name made his heart leap with joy? Maybe, but he wasn't sure what to feel right now.

Serenity took out a rose and offered it to him. He hesitated for a moment but accepted it anyway. He noticed that it was no ordinary rose because he felt a powerful aura in it.

"What am I supposed to do with this?" Kurama asked while staring at the rose in his hand. Serenity moved closer and gazed up at him.

"I want you to keep that. I know someday we'll see each other again… and that rose will serve as a proof of that promise." Kurama wanted to say something in return, but the words could not escape his lips. There was no woman who had ever captivated him like this before.

Their eyes met, as if they were talking to each other. Kurama saw that his emotions were reflected in Serenity's eyes, but there's no turning back now. He bent his head down and kissed her. His heart and mind were confused with mixed emotions, but when he touched her sweet lips with his own, everything seemed to have no importance. Everything that moved around them didn't exist.

Even though she was shocked, Serenity kissed him back. She wrapped her arms around his neck as his arms encircled her waist and pulled her closer. The world started to spin as the kiss deepened.

Suddenly, she felt something strange in her head. Kurama drew his lips away from her when he felt her stiffen, knowing that the poison has started to take its effect. He cupped her face and whispered gently, "Gomen nasai…"

She gave him a questioning look then she felt lightheaded and everything seemed to turn around her. Her sight darkened and silence followed.

* * *

_Serenity! Serenity! Wake-up Serenity!_

She opened her eyes slowly to see her mother looking down at her with tears in her eyes. The sailor senshis were also inside the room, with the same expression as her mother. The queen embraced her and cried with joy. She frowned at them, obviously confused on what was going on.

"Why are you all crying? Has something happened?"

"We found you sleeping outside the palace door," Venus explained.

"But what am I doing outside the palace door?"

All of them went quiet.

"Don't you remember anything, Serenity?" her mother asked softly.

"What do you mean?"

The queen looked at the senshis, her eyes telling them that she needed to be alone with her daughter for a while. They all walked out of the door then the queen turned her gaze back to the princess.

"Mother, what's going on?"

The queen stroked her daughter's hair then said gently, "Nothing, just forget about it. But I want you to know that I love you very much. I know that I'm showing it to you through actions, but just the same, I want you to hear it from me." Serenity smiled and hugged her mother.

"Don't worry, mother. I know that you do, and I feel the same way," she closed her eyes and fell into another deep slumber.

The queen continued to stroke her daughter's. She smiled as she saw a tall figure standing just outside her daughter's bedroom window.

"Thank you very much for bringing my daughter back…"

The figure bowed down then immediately vanished from sight. From that day on, the legendary youko of Makai was never heard from the Moon Kingdom again.

* * *

**{The Present}**

The rain had stopped. The sun peeped out from the clouds and the two of them were still standing there staring at each other. Snapping out of her stupor, she smiled at him and waved her hand.

"Shuuichi-kun!" she started to run down the stairs towards him. He smiled back. Years passed but she was still the little girl he knew from grade school.

She was halfway down when she accidentally tripped and lost balance. He immediately ran up the steps as fast as he could to break the fall. He reached her just in time and she accidentally hugged him for support. Their sudden closeness made him uneasy, causing him to quickly withdrew his arms. The girl blushed, then apologized.

"Well, if it isn't Tsukino Usagi, still clumsy as ever," he said with a warm smile.

"Shuuichi-kun, I…" Usagi was about to reply when a tall, slender man with jet-black hair appeared form the top of the stairs. "Mamo-chan…"

The man went to her side, gave her a hug, and kissed her lips, lingering for a while. Shuuichi watched the small display of affection, both confused and hurt. When the two finally broke apart, Usagi turned to him.

"Shuuichi-kun, this is Chiba Mamoru, my fiancé…"

"Konnichiwa," Mamoru said with a small wave.

"Mamo-chan, this is Minamino Shuuichi, a classmate from grade school."

Recovering from his surprise, Shuuichi managed a small smile, then reached out to shake Mamoru's hand. "Nice to meet you. Congratulations by the way. Promise that you'll never make Usagi cry. She's very emotional you know," he teased. Mamoru laughed then placed his arms around his fiancée's shoulder whose face was beet red.

"You're right about that. Well, I'd better start the car, you two go talk for a while. I know you haven't seen each other for a long time. Usako, I'll just wait for you at the car, okay?" Mamoru nodded at Shuuichi then planted a final kiss on Usagi's forehead before walking away. A moment of silence followed. Strange, but they shouldn't feel that way. After all, they were old friends.

"I'm glad that you came here in Tokyo…" Usagi broke the silence. "I've been contacting you about the wedding, but you're always out of touch…"

Shuuichi sighed then tried to lighten up the situation. "When is the ceremony?"

"This coming Sunday…"

There was another silence.

"Your fiancé is quite nice… and loves you very much," he didn't notice the bitterness in his voice, good thing Usagi didn't either.

"Mamo-chan is a very responsible man. He knows how to deal things calmly. I love him very much and I know we can make this thing work out." 

Shuuichi felt as if he was slapped hard on the face. No, he wasn't jealous; in fact, he was happy for her. At least that's what he thought.

"I know you'd be happy with him," he managed to say.

"Arigatou…" Usagi murmured then looked at where the car was parked. "Well… I have to go now," she said softly. "I can't let him wait for too long." She placed a soft kiss on his cheek, then looked at him one last time before leaving. "See you on Sunday…" then she started to walk away.

"Sayonara… hime…" he murmured as he watched her disappear from his sight. He was now alone, holding a rose in his hand.

**-Owari-**


End file.
